Education

Statewide Training and Regional Supports (STARS)
Contracts with the SoonerStart Early Intervention Program, Oklahoma State Department of Education, and the Developmental Disabilities Services Division of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services support team and technical training for personnel and parents involved in SoonerStart, preschool programs, and developmental disabilities services. The director is Audra Haney, MSSW, LCSW.

Oklahoma LEND (Interdisciplinary Leadership Education for Health Professionals Caring for Children with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) is a project of the Center for Learning and Leadership/UCEDD, supported by a grant from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Core occupational therapy faculty, Laurie Mouradian, ScD, OTR/L, BCP, and core physical therapy faculty, Lynn Jeffries, PT, PhD, PCS participate in the program.

Preparation of Occupational Therapists and Physical Therapists for Service Provision in Early Intervention and Related Services is a Personnel Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Education to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities. The primary objective of the project is to increase the number of occupational therapy and physical therapy graduates who are highly qualified, through evidenced based practice and research, to provide service in the area of early intervention and related services for children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  The PI and Project Physical Therapy Director is Sandra Arnold, PT, PhD.  The Project Occupational Therapy Director is Elizabeth DeGrace, PhD, OTR/L and the Project Field Work Coordinator is Lynn Jeffries, PT, PhD, PCS.

Research

Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth Early Intervention Program
This contract supports coordination of a comprehensive program evaluation of the SoonerStart Early Intervention Program called the Child Longitudinal Progress Study (CLPS). Martha Ferretti, PT, MPH coordinates the program.

Construct Validation of the School Outcome Measure
This study is examining the construct validity of the School Outcomes Measure (SOM), a minimal data set designed to collect data on students with disabilities who receive school-based occupational therapy and physical therapy.  The PI is Sandra Arnold, PT, PhD.

Foundation for Physical Therapy and Presbyterian Health Foundation
The study “Self-initiated prone progression in infants with disabilities and at risk for cerebral palsy” is directed by Thubi H.A. Kolobe, PT, PhD. The purpose of this study is to promote early mobility and exploration in infants with disabilities through a low-cost innovative technologically advanced assistive device, the self-initiated prone progression crawler (SIPPC). It investigates whether infants with or at high risk of CP can learn to independently move and explore their home environment using the SIPPC. This work is the result of collaborations among researchers from the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and Virginia Commonwealth University and the College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma.

Self-initiated prone progression in infants with disabilities and at risk for cerebral palsy
The purpose of this research is to promote early mobility and exploration in infants with disabilities through a low-cost innovative technologically advanced assistive device, the self-initiated prone progression crawler (SIPPC). The research targets prone progression, the earliest mobility skill that infants use to explore their environments during the first year of life; is integrated with other systems essential for functional independence and academic readiness; has shown very little responsiveness to traditional interventions; and is compromised in children with severe disabilities, particularly cerebral palsy (CP).

The current project, funded by the Presbyterian Health Foundation and the Foundation for Physical Therapy investigates whether infants with or at high risk of CP can learn to independently move and explore their home environment using the SIPPC. The SIPPC is a motorized wheeled platform with an onboard computer designed to sense and assist the infant’s effort to move. The infant’s intended direction is sensed though a combination of position encoders and force transducers embedded in the device. To date no intervention or device has been used with infants with disabilities or at risk for CP to enable them to independently explore their environment during the first year of life, which simultaneously gathers information about their learning strategies. Because of the inter-connection between prone progression and other domains of infants’ development, and its development coincides with the period of highly active synaptic formation in the brain, we hypothesize that the ability to move independently with the aid of the SIPPC could have far-reaching benefits beyond improving motor performance for infants with disabilities or those or at risk for CP.

This work is the results of collaborations among researchers from the Departments of Rehabilitation Science at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center and Virginia Commonwealth University, and the College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. Thubi H.A. Kolobe, PT, PhD is the project director.

Service

Developmental Disabilities Service Division, Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS)
The Center has several contracts with the Oklahoma State Department of Human Services:

One contract supports the development, review, dissemination, coordination, and evaluation of policies and guidelines for provision of occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology services, therapeutic equipment, and assistive technology services and devices for Oklahomans with developmental disabilities. The contract is directed by Maria Jones, PT, PhD, ATP.

The second contract funds the Oklahoma Autism Network, a statewide network focused on improving services for Oklahomans with autism by providing training, information dissemination, and through collaboration with existing agencies and services. Rene Daman, PT, MS, PCS is the Director of the Oklahoma Autism Network.

Division of Childcare, Oklahoma State Department of Human Services
TIC-TOC, Training Inclusive Child care equals Terrific Opportunities for Children, is a training series for child care providers intended to increase the number of children with disabilities participating in community-based child care settings. The project is coordinated by Lynn Jeffries, PT, PhD, PCS.

Division of Childcare, Oklahoma State Department of Human Services
TIC-TOC, Training Inclusive Child care equals Terrific Opportunities for Children, is a training series for child care providers intended to increase the number of children with disabilities participating in community-based child care settings. The project is coordinated by Lynn Jeffries, PT, PhD, PCS.

Oklahoma State Department of Education
The Center has several contracts with the Oklahoma State Department of Education:

One contract supports assistive technology consultation, training, information dissemination, and technical assistance for school personnel throughout the state of Oklahoma. The program director is Stefanie Olson, MS, CCC-SLP, ATP.

Oklahoma Health Care Authority is a project that provides professional consultation related to physical therapy, occupational therapy, and durable medical equipment for the SoonerCare Medical Authorization Unit.  The contract is directed by Maria Jones, PT, PhD, ATP.

Oklahoma State Department of Health, SoonerStart Early Intervention Program
Faculty and clinical staff provide early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families in accordance with Federal Law PL99-457 under the leadership of Lynn Jeffries, PT, PhD, PCS.